Ready For the Baby: The Verb Get (Part One)
| This is an entry in the “Getting Ready For the Baby” series. We’ll be talking about babies all week!
This entry is available as a Adobe Acrobat file for printing or use in a class. This entry includes a listening exercises. You can dowload the MP3 or play it using the button below. (MP3) |
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One of the things that surprised me about becoming a father—and I haven’t become a father, yet—is how many different things you need to buy for the baby. Or, how many different things you need to get for the baby. You might know that the word ‘get’ can have many different meanings in English, but how many of them do you know?
When your English is getting good, one of the things that’s hard to get about the language, is how many ways you can use the word get. Have you got an idea how many possibilities there are? Today we’re going to talk about only a few.
Before You Start the Recording
I’m going to talk about three possibilities for using the word ‘get’ today. Before we start, I want you to think about the things you need for a baby. . . in English, using the vocabulary from yesterday, or in your own language. And then think about how many of those things are already in your house or apartment.
Finally, I want you to think of all the words—all of the adjectives—you can use to describe new parents. Maybe you’ll want to use words like inexperienced, excited, worried, or nervous. The choice is yours, but think of a few.
Now, start the recording.
After You’ve Heard the Recording
How many of these meanings did you already know? Are you getting comfortable with the verb get, yet? How would you use them?
Forget babies for a moment: think about other things. The last time you went to the store, what did you get? How many of the things that you bought at the store have you got at home now? When the store doesn’t have what you need, do you get angry?
